Means for preventing leakage of oil



MEANS FOR PREVENTING LEAKAGE OF OIL Filed April 19, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheb 1vwenffoz Nov. 1 5, 1932. v. P. WILLIAMS 1,887,793

MEANS FOR PREVENTING LEAKAGE OF OIL Filed April 19, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet2 /O u v wuenlo'o E1 I3 -14- 3 naamw/Mmm,

Patented Nov. 15, 1932 `UNITED STATES PA11-:Nrl oFFIcE` vILIon P.WILLIAMS, oF BALTIMORE, IiIARYLANIJ,V ASsIGNon, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS,To ESTELLI: I. WILLIAMS, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND,

MEANS FOR PREVENTING LEAIKAGE OF OIL Application filed April-19,

My present invention, in its broad aspect, has to do with improvementsin means for preventing leakage of oil from bearings and otherlubricated surfaces, and it is especially adapted for use in conjunctionwith the improvements defined in my co-pending applications for patentfiled April 2nd 1930, Serial Numbers-441,145 and 441,146. It has beenfound very difficult to prevent leakage of oil from small bearingsurfaces where expediency prevents the use of stuffing boxes andefficient packing. An instance of such leaking bearing is found in theusual universal joint where the parts having thel bearing surfaces arerelatively small, and it is necessaryy tous'e a casing or shell toprevent'soiling of adjacent parts of a machine. A leaky bearing isnotoriously extravagent of oil since oil passes from the bearing verysoon after it is lubricated; accordingly such a bearing necessitates theuse of a constant flow of oil, as from a cup or the like. Especially hasit been found difficult to cap the endof abearing j where the end of theshaft is flush or Substantially flush with its journal, or where theline of the rotating part and its bearing Support is a fiush surface. Ofcourse a capmay be used with packing and thelike, but to use such a capis prohibitive with small parts, to say nothing of the incident expense,and furthermore where a cap is used the support must be drilled toreceive fasteners and the caps must be inspected regularly. In theuniversal joint defined in my col-pending application Serial #441,146,and in the system of lubrication defined in my co-pending applicationSerial #441,145 lubricating oil is forced to all the working surfaces ofthe pins and of the ring. However, some leakage of oil takes place, andin connection with the joint it is desirable toV use a casing or shell.My present application has to do with the prevention of leakage of oil,especially with the type of bearing shown'in conjunction with myco-pending applications above identified, and when my present inventionis used the so called casing or shell may be entirely eliminated."Furthermore my present invention prevents entrance of dust to theworking parts; prevents dilution of the lubrication by oil 1930. serialNo. 445,707."

extraneous substances, or gritting-up, ofthe lubricating oil, and inaddition my present device is cheap, and effective and does not in-`terfere with cleaningV or wiping theparts, and nly be readily removed orreplacedor the 1 e. Y Y

In practice the detail construction of my device may beconsiderably'changed since the means for preventing leakage must. bemade to conform to the sizeshape`and type of parts lubricated; andtheright to make such changes is especially reserved providedthey fallwithin the spirit and concept of the in'- vention as hereinafterdescribed in detail. l l

of constructing the ring, andassembling theV type ofl leak preventionmeans shown in F igures'l and 2. In this figure, view A is a detail ofthe ring sections; view B isa section ythrough the ring, before thesections are clamped together, and` view C is a view through the ringwith the sections lclamped `together to hold the packing disk in place;

Figure 4, views A-B-G--D shows` a modified form vof my inventionlutilizing a spring metal oil sealingcap; and in which view A is asection of a ring with the cap in place but'not forced or sprung downinto place; view B is a section of the ring with the cap in itsoperative position; view C is a section of the oil sealing'cap, and ViewD is a plan view of the oil sealing cap;

Figures 5, 6 and 7 show another modified form of my invention in whichthe pin of a universal joint is provided with both an end and a baseflange and packing to seal the bearing of the pin against leakage;this'form is shownv in Figures 5 and 6, and in Figure 7 an annular plateis attached tothe end of a pin and serves a similar purpose; i 1

pins ,packed to preventleakage of tive View of the band'V and packing;Figure'll is a fragmentary sectional: side view of'a ring section; Figure 12 1s a` detailof the band- Where it is enlarged to cap a pin;Figure 13 is a vienT of a corrugated retaining ea-r of the' band; Figure14 is a transverse section through a ringshoWinghoW the packing isdisposed beneath the band, and Figure 15 is'a section through the bandshowingA how the 'packing'is retained in place.

' In the drawings wherein like characters of' reference are used todesignate like or similar parts throughout the several views thereofzrIrhe numerals ('1') 'and (2) designate the end'sv of shaft sectionsvcou-pled by a universal joint having' knuckles (3) andr (4) the knucklehas a hollow cavity (shown in dotted' lines) for receiving oil, anddesi-z; nated (5) andi filled from anoil cup (6) or other suitablesourceofluhricant for the joint after the manner disclos-ed in my co-pendingapplications Serial Nos. 441,145 and 441,146. Asshovvnein' Figures8-94-10 and 11the universal! joint ring (7 is formed in sectionsy (8)'and (9) j grooved to provide an oil chan-I nel (150)Whichcomm'unicatesWitlithe groove (11) in thepins (121) sothat the pinsare kept lubricated by a flow ofoil from the cavity (5) throughbores-(not shown) to. certain of the pins (12)- and grooves (11)` thenceyto the oil channel (10)- and' around. the same to t'heotherv pins (1.2)afterthe-manner herein shown and' described at greater l'engtlrin mycopending applications above identified. However, it' has been foundithat leakage of oil exists between the ring sections (8) and (9) andabout the ends of the pins (12), andy my present invention' has todowith the pre-` vention of such leakage.

Since my universal joint is assembled by bolting or otherwise attachingthe sections of thering together to retain the pins (12.),.I amv enabledto prevent leakage of oil from about the ends of the pins by forming anannular boss (13) about the ends of the pins on the ring' sections (8:)and (9), said boss being annullarly flanged as at (14) to retain inplace a metallic disk (15) as shown in Figures 1, 2 and the view C ofFigure 3. In operation., when the ring sections are ready to be puttogether; the disk (which may be of metal or composition) is insertedover the ends of the pins as shown in View B of Fig-- ure 3, so thatwhen the ring sections are forced together the disk `(15) is clamped inplace as shown in View C of Figure 3, or in Figure 2 Where the assemblyis shown, thereby preventing seepage of oil from the bearing.

In Figure 4 is shown the preferred form of: my invention, and in thisligure, the pins are disclosed as terminating short of the outer rim ofthe ring Which is extended so that the ends of the pins (12) are sunkWithin' the peripheries of the ring bearing. The Walls of the ring areannularly recessed as` at (16),- and. in the recesses are seated springmetal disks (17) of such a size that they may be easily set over theends of the pins when the ring is assembled, and then givenl a slighttap With' a hammer or the like to spring out into the recesses as shownin view B of Figure 4. The disk (17 )is slightly convex as shown inviewsC and D, so that aE slight tap With a hammer or the like Will change itscontour to seat it in the grooves between which andf the` periphery ofthe ringA sections is packing (22)l so that thepins are The form sealedagainst leakage of oil. shown in Figure 7 contemplatesattaching a platey(23,) to the end of each pin `by a screw erthe like (24) and whichextends. out over the edge ofthe pin to simulate a flange under whichpacking (22) lmay be placed to seal the bearing'.

AV desirable form of sealing means is disclosed in Figures 8 to 15, Whenit vis desired not only to seal theV pins against leakage of oil, butthe ring sections aswell. In this form I provide an vannular metallicbandv (25.) which has depending'ears (26) on either sidey through whichthe attaching bolts or screws (27) of the ring sections engage to holdthe band in place on the periphery of the ring when assembled. The ears(26) as Well as the bandk itself may be corrugated i-f desired as at(28)A to increase strength and rigidity. Where the band passes over theends ofthe pins it is increased in breadth as at (29)v to simulate t-hecontour of a circular' disk, and beneath the entire band is a packingstrip (30) which is held in place byv sivaging'. the edges of the bandto form a thin int-urned edge (31) as shown in Figure 15 tohold thepackingin place. A universal jointring, and pins sealed after the mannerherein described is oil tight, and the usual shell. or casing may beVentirely dispensedila with. And in practice the sealing means may bequickly and easily applied without skilled labor, and without machining,and entrance of dust and other extraneous matter to the bearing surfacesis prevented.

While it is believed that the operation and construction of my oilsealing means will be apparent from the foregoing, it is pointed outthat the use ofra so-called packing gland is eliminated, and so also isthe use of a cap with packing to prevent leakage of oil. All that isnecessary in theV preferred form is to groove the sections of the ringto receive the spring metal disk, or in the alternative form to providea flanged boss to hold the disk; While in the remaining form the banddoes not add to the weight of the device as a whole. My oil seal iseffective and is easily assembled, and when used with a universal jointas in the present instance, no casing or shell is necessary.

While the combination and arrangement of parts heretofore describedconstitute the preferred forms of my invention, it is desired to againpoint out that the scope of the invention should only be determined bythe claims appended hereunto.

I claimv l. A11 oil seal for universal joints of the type wherein a ringis provided to retain the knuckle pins, comprising a relatively thinmetallic band covering the peripheral surface o the ring and passingover the ends of the pins; the edges of the band being substantiallycoincident with the edges of the ring, and extensions formed on the bandat Y either side of that portion Where the band passes over the ends ofthe pins, said extensions bent down along the sides of the ring toprovide ears for holding the band in place, and a packing strip beneaththe band, the edges of the bandbeing swaged down to form an inturnedpart engaging and holding the packing strip in place.

2. An oil seal for universal joints of the type wherein a ring isprovided to retain the knuckle pins, comprising a relatively thinmetallic band covering the peripheral surface of the ring and passingover the ends of the pins, the respective outside edges of the bandbeing substantially coincident with the edges of the ring, and opposedextensions formed on the band at either side of that portion where theband passes over the ends of the pins, s id extensions being bent downto lie against the sides of the ring to hold the band in place, and saidextensions being corrugated, and a packing strip beneath the band, therespective edges of the band being swaged to form inturned partsengaging and holding the packing strip in place.

In testimony whereof, I altix my signature hereunto.

VILLOR P. WILLIAMS.

